NEW DELHI, Aug. 8 -- Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai on Thursday said that he will vacate his official residence before the deadline mandated under the Supreme Court Judges Rules, even as he acknowledged personal constraints in securing a new home before his retirement on November 24. The statement, coming just days after the Supreme Court administration formally asked the Union government to evict former CJI Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud from the official residence of a serving CJI, acquires added significance. "Till 24th of November, I will not find time to find a suitable house. But I can assure you that whatever time is permissible as per the rules, I will be shifting before that," CJI Gavai said at a farewell event for Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, who demits office on August 9. The rules entitle a judge to retain a government residence for a month post-retirement. In the case of a retired CJI, Rule 3B of the Supreme Court Judges (Amendment) Rules, 2022, permits six months' rent-free stay in a Type VII accommodation, but not the Type VIII bungalow allotted to a serving CJI. The public assertion by the current CJI comes in the immediate backdrop of an unprecedented communication dated July 1 from the Supreme Court administration to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), demanding that Bungalow No 5, Krishna Menon Marg -- the official residence of India's Chief Justice, be vacated by former CJI Chandrachud, who retired in November 2024 but continued to occupy the premises eight months later. Significantly, both CJI Gavai and his predecessor, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, chose not to move into the Krishna Menon Marg bungalow and instead remained in their earlier residences. In praising Justice Dhulia for promptly vacating his accommodation, Justice Gavai further said: "After retirement, he is going to be in Delhi and he will be one of the judges who will be vacating the house immediately on the next date of his retirement....